Trump brand boycott gets louder with plans to protest Ivanka's line at the Bay

A group of Ontario women plan to dress up as Donald Trump and protest in Toronto

Both Donald Trump and daughter Ivanka are targets in a growing boycott of Trump merchandise. (Kevin Dietsch/Pool/Getty Images)

Sophia HarrisBusiness reporter sophia.harris@cbc.ca

Sophia Harris has worked as a CBC video journalist across the country, covering everything from the start of the annual lobster fishery in Yarmouth, N.S., to farming in Saskatchewan. She now has found a good home at the business unit in Toronto where she produces for national TV news and writes and shoots and edits video for CBC.ca.
Twitter:

A group of women plan to dress up as caricatures of U.S. President Donald Trump and stage a protest this weekend at two Hudson's Bay stores in the Toronto area.

Their aim is to convince the Canadian-based department store to stop selling Ivanka Trump's clothing and accessories.

The protesters call themselves the "Peeved Beavers."

"Beavers" is inspired by the Bay's coat of arms, which includes four brown beavers. And the word peeved?

"We're peeved because they carry the Ivanka brand, but being peeved is attached to what that brand represents as well," says group member Amanda St. Jean.

Amanda St. Jean, of Guelph, Ont., is dressed as U.S. President Donald Trump. She will sport the costume at two protests at Bay stores in the Toronto area this Saturday. (Amanda St. Jean)

To protest President Trump's deeply divisive politics, a grassroots campaign called Grab Your Wallet has been calling for a boycott of retailers carrying Trump merchandise. The campaign, launched in October, has been gathering steam as protesters get louder and more retailers drop Trump-related products.

In Canada, many are focusing their boycott on the Bay. Their movement has even inspired a Twitter hashtag: #baycott.

The Bay has given no indication it plans to drop Ivanka Trump's line. "We respect our customers' right to choose the brands that work for them," the company said in an email to CBC News.

Hudson's Bay continues to sell a number of Ivanka Trump products, including her jewelry line. (CBC)

St. Jean and about 14 fellow protesters plan to hit two popular Bay locations this Saturday: Square One Shopping Centre in Mississauga at 10:30 a.m., and Toronto Eaton Centre at 11:30 a.m.

They've decided to dress up as the new U.S. president to grab attention. They'll also carry signs thanking the Bay for its continued support of his daughter's brand.

"It's a very heavy time and so we thought something lighter might be helpful," St. Jean says about the satirical approach.

But she adds that the Bay continuing to carry Ivanka Trump's line is no laughing matter. "I think the [Bay] brand has a value on their books and it's slowly being eroded by everyday Canadians who are just saying, "This isn't right."

St. Jean and other boycotters oppose many of Trump's policies, from his stance on the environment, to his recent executive order on immigration and refugees.

An Ivanka Trump brand jacket is shown on display at a Hudson's Bay in Toronto. (CBC)

Some have complained the boycott unfairly targets Ivanka Trump, punishing her for her father's controversial policies.

"You have issues with the father so take it out on the daughter. Pathetic," commented a reader on a CBC News story about the boycott.

But Ivanka Trump is closely tied to her father and his presidency, St. Jean says.

She also says she believes the first daughter has unfairly used her father's status to market products, pointing to a promotion put out by Ivanka Trump's company for a $10,800 US bracelet she wore during a 60 Minutes interview in November.

Ivanka Trump also sparked criticism when she plugged a dress from her collection that she wore to the Republican Party's national convention last July.

"She's politicized shopping — now we have too," says St. Jean.

A number of retailers have chosen to stop selling at least some Ivanka Trump merchandise or products sold under the Trump Home brand. They include Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, Burlington Coat Factory, Sears and Kmart.

Coulter started the boycott campaign in October after the release of Access Hollywood footage from 2005 where Donald Trump bragged about groping women.

But it's the controversy over Trump's policies as president that has helped fuel the boycott, she says.

"I think it's a very easy, peaceful way to protest," says Coulter. "The name 'Trump' in general is pretty toxic right now."

She says the #GrabYour Wallet hashtag has been seen more than 800 million times in Twitter feeds, while the campaign's website got two million hits in the last month and sometimes gets upwards of 30,000 unique visits per hour.

"We got your back at She BANGZZ which is a female firearms fashion boutique!!! Go Trump!!!" wrote another person, referring to the women's section of a Tennessee gun shop.

A small group of Trump supporters also staged their own protest by heading to a U.S. Nordstrom store to cancel their accounts.

And a call to boycott Trump wine has apparently led to a surge in sales. According to Fox News, Trump supporters in Virginia responded by swarming Wegmans grocery stores, buying so much of the product that some locations sold out.

With this weekend's protests at the Bay, St. Jean says she hopes not to incite a backlash, but instead raise attention for her side of the debate.

"I hope it's the right kind of attention," she says. "We want to start a conversation."

To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted.

By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.